Red Sox Journal: Yankees hope Ichiro is the answer in left

Friday

Jul 27, 2012 at 7:32 PM

NEW YORK — As the Yankees welcomed the Red Sox to the Bronx for the first time in 2012, they also got a chance to introduce their newest acquisition.

TIM BRITTON

NEW YORK — As the Yankees welcomed the Red Sox to the Bronx for the first time in 2012, they also got a chance to introduce their newest acquisition. Ichiro Suzuki, a 10-time All-Star and surefire Hall of Famer, made his first home start as a member of the Yankees on Friday.

Suzuki comes to New York essentially to replace Brett Gardner, who is likely out for the remainder of the season because of an elbow injury. In Gardner’s absence, the Yankees had been using a platoon of Raul Ibanez and Andruw Jones in left field. Once Nick Swisher returns from injury — likely sometime this weekend — those two will split time at designated hitter while Suzuki will take up a regular residence in left.

It’s a position in which he’s started only once in his major-league career — Game Five of the 2001 ALCS at the old Yankee Stadium, which is also the last time he played in the postseason.

“I’ve played center here before, but I haven’t played left,” he said. “It’s something you can’t get from knowing the stadium. You have to experience in games. I’ll have to go out and just really experience it to get a feel for what the stadium is like.”

Although the 38-year-old Suzuki is in the midst of his worst season in the majors, the Yankees hope he can bring some diversity to an offensive attack that relies predominantly on the long ball. Without Gardner, the Yankees have lacked the kind of player that can manufacture a run with his speed. Suzuki’s 16 stolen bases this year — 15 with Seattle and one since the trade — are the most on the team.

Suzuki is hitting .261 with a .289 on-base percentage and four home runs this season.

The opportunity to get back to the postseason — he’s reached the playoffs only once, in that rookie season in 2001 — was a strong motivating factor when Suzuki asked the Mariners to trade him. He hasn’t been involved in a real pennant race even since 2007. Manager Joe Girardi said being on the stage in New York “can do a lot for him.”

Bobby Valentine, who first saw Suzuki in Japan in 1994, thinks he’s a “special person and a special baseball player,” but he doesn’t want to see anything special from the outfielder this weekend.

“I want to see him get to the plate and go back to the dugout,” Valentine said.

Ortiz takes batting practice

David Ortiz took batting practice on Friday for the first time since suffering a right Achilles strain last week.

Ortiz is out of the walking boot he had worn since injuring the heel last Monday.

The bigger test for the designated hitter will come when he attempts to run. Although he does put some pressure on the heel when he swings, it doesn’t really bother him at the plate.

“I never had any anxiousness when I’m hitting, just the running thing,” said Ortiz. “Every day is different. Every day for me, it has been improving. We’ll see. If I’m ready to go [Wednesday], I’m ready to go. I want to play.”

Without Ortiz’s bat, the Red Sox have struggled in their last nine games. Entering Friday night, Boston has scored 35 runs and hit .244 with a .276 on-base percentage.

Asked how much his offense has missed Ortiz’s presence, Valentine said it was “hard to tell.”

“David was so on since day one of the season that it’s hard to say you haven’t missed him,” Valentine said. “He’s pretty good.”

The Red Sox are 3-6 without Ortiz coming into Friday, making it particularly difficult for him to sit on the sidelines. Unfortunately, his injury requires such patience.

“It’s been a slow process. It’s something you just need some time off,” Ortiz said. “So, probably when I get back I’ll probably have to deal with those up and down days. It’s fixable. It just needs some time off.”

Buchholz gets extra rest

Just as there’s no denying this weekend marks a critical juncture in the Red Sox season, not much of an argument could be made against the idea that Clay Buchholz has been Boston’s best starter for the last several weeks.

Given those concepts and an off-day that would have allowed the Sox to use Buchholz on regular rest on Sunday night, why did they opt to keep the rotation the same?

“There was some consideration, but I didn’t think it was necessary to do it now,” Valentine said. “He’s been pitching very well when he’s getting a little extra rest. At this time of the season, you don’t want to empty the tank and he agreed.”

Buchholz owns a 2.47 ERA over his last eight starts dating back to May 27. Valentine’s point that he’s pitched well on extra rest is of mixed merit. Half of those eight starts have come on regular four days’ rest. In that span, Buchholz has a 1.50 ERA on regular rest and a 3.49 mark with extra time off. (This does include the 24-day break he had when he was on the disabled list.)

Valentine, though, said he wouldn’t rule out shifting his rotation around under similar circumstances later in the season.

Buchholz will pitch Monday when the Red Sox return home to host Detroit. Felix Doubront, meanwhile, will get a chance on Sunday to deliver a third quality start against the Yankees this season — something no opponent has done in 2012. Doubront is one of seven starters with two quality starts against the Yankees. (Interestingly, five of them — Doubront, C.J. Wilson, David Price, Jonathon Niese and Tommy Milone — are left-handed.)

Doubront has a 2.91 ERA against the Yankees this season. The rest of the Red Sox pitching staff owns an 8.86 ERA against New York.

Hope for the future

Friday night marked the 100th game of the 2012 season for the Red Sox.

Those 100 games certainly haven’t gone according to plan, not with Boston entering Friday below .500 and in last place in the American League East.

Still, Valentine sees plenty of reasons to maintain hope for the final two months.

“I’ve seen Adrian [Gonzalez] and Dustin [Pedroia] really hitting their stride. They’re feeling good. I see David [Ortiz] coming back,” Valentine said. “I see [Jacoby] Ellsbury and Carl [Crawford] in the lineup, and I see our bullpen pretty well stabilized and our starting staff feeling pretty good about themselves.

“Everyone says how the heck can this staff feel good about themselves without Josh [Beckett] and Jon [Lester] winning their last starts and all that. They’re healthy and throwing the ball well. I believe we have quality people and they’re healthy…. That’s a lot.”

His counterpart across the diamond views it similarly.

“The important thing is what happens in the next 64 or 65 games, not really what’s happened up until this point,” Girardi said. “That’s the way we look at it, too. And I'm sure that’s the way they’re looking at it. Can they make a run, and get hot?”